


The Babysitter

by Purpleprose556



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Miscommunication, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Richie Tozier, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 04:47:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29362743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purpleprose556/pseuds/Purpleprose556
Summary: "Someone's gonna be...at my house.""You got company?""No." Eddie cleared his throat. "It's um, just that it'll be me and... someone, uh, staying at the house. With me."Richie frowned. "What are you talking about?"Eddie kept his eyes on the screen in front of him. "Aunt Sarah's going out of town. Work thing. And, she, um...called somebody to...watch the house. While I'm home.""You have got to be kidding me." Richie's eyes widened as he tried to process this insane piece of information. "You've got ababysitter?"
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 4
Kudos: 31





	The Babysitter

**Author's Note:**

> FYI, the babysitter is inspired by a certain Shameless character. 😏

1990

He almost had it. 

It was like crafting the perfect joke - you had to get the wording and timing just right. Richie was almost there, he could feel it, but it had to be just right. 

_Eddie baby, do you wanna go out...no, too juvenile, he'll hate it._

_Hey, Eds, I want to take you out...no, too forward._

_Spaghetti man, how would you like to accompany me...no, too weird._

_Shit._

The Aladdin Theater was showing Ghostbusters that weekend, and Richie was determined to ask Eddie to go with him to see it, just the two of them. He had to make it sound fun, without sounding too eager. Just two guy friends hanging out. Totally not a date.

But, it _could_ be a date, or a prelude to a date. Richie envisioned himself working up the courage to pull up the armrest between them at the movie theater, put his arm around Eddie, and who knows, maybe Eddie would realize that he likes that sort of thing. Maybe he'd realize that he likes Richie, as in, more than a friend. It could happen.

Richie knew that if there was any time to try something, it was now. The rest of the Losers had fucked off to camp, vacations, and in Beverly's case, moved away entirely, so it had been just Richie and Eddie for most of the summer. Richie had absolutely no problem with that, as he had realized at the end of the last school year that not only was he definitely gay, but he was completely head over heels in love with his best friend. 

The moment of truth had come after the unthinkable happened - Sonia Kaspbrak, the bane of Richie's existence, had done the world a favor and died in her sleep a month after their last year of junior high. It was a bittersweet moment, meaning that Eddie was finally free, but even if Richie hated the woman, she _was_ Eddie's mother. 

Eddie had been a mess. He would be joyfully relieved, then heartbroken over feeling guilty, to bring furious with her for abusing his trust and using him as a pawn for her own insecurities, then back to relief, and so on. Throughout it all, Richie was there, always ready to listen or offer a distraction, if needed. 

After the funeral, Eddie stayed at Richie's house. He was silent and pale all that day, withdrawn into himself until that evening, when he threw himself onto Richie's bed and began sobbing.

Richie had gone to him immediately, wrapping Eddie up in his arms. Eddie had clung to him, and Richie had felt such an overwhelming sense of protection that it was almost frightening.

The next morning, Richie woke up with Eddie curled up next to him, his head resting on his chest as he slept. Eddie had stirred as Richie carefully stretched, a slight smile on his face as he snuggled closer.

"Richie," he'd sighed, and fell back asleep.

As Richie had tried to will his heart to stop pounding, a single thought presented itself, utterly succinct and profound: _I am in love with Eddie Kaspbrak._

He never said it out loud. He didn't even dare write it down. But there it was, etched into his skin, his bones, his _blood_. 

Somehow, Richie kept himself from being obvious. He was the quintessential best friend, distracting Eddie from his grief with jokes, comic books, games, and anything he could get his hands on. When Eddie announced that his mother's sister Sarah would be taking custody of him, Richie prided himself on not fainting in sheer relief when Eddie went on to say that his mother had left the house to Sarah in her will, and Sarah had decided that she would move in. Eddie would be staying in Derry, because as his Aunt Sarah explained it, she felt that making him move after such a horrible tragedy would be "unspeakably cruel".

Sarah was one of his favorite new people, Richie decided. 

So, Eddie stayed, and Richie fell deeper in love every time he saw him. It didn't exactly help that Eddie was quickly growing from adorably cute into downright fucking gorgeous. Richie ached to touch Eddie, to hold him and kiss him and do things to him and with him that would make a porn star blush. 

Being around Eddie was a sort of torture, as Richie couldn't keep his hands off him - he was always hugging Eddie, tickling him, pinching his cheeks, or grabbing his hand to pull him places - but at some point Eddie was bound to tire of him and start pushing him away in earnest. 

Until then, Richie stuck to Eddie like glue. They'd been spending most afternoons in Richie's room, playing video games and reading comics. That particular afternoon, Eddie was sitting on the floor, muttering to himself as he navigated through Super Mario Bros 3. Richie was laying on his bed, pretending to read an old issue of X-Men while instead looking over Eddie's clenched jaw and bare legs (god, those shorts would be the death of him). 

"Hey, we should go see Ghostbusters this weekend," Richie mumbled, and silently cheered himself for injecting just the right amount of boredom. Nice and casual, just two buddies spending time together.

Eddie's jaw tightened even more. "Can't," he muttered.

"How come?" Richie asked, trying to sound more curious than disappointed. 

Eddie grunted and kept his eye on the TV screen as mashed the buttons on the controller. "Someone's gonna be...at my house."

"You got company?"

"No." Eddie cleared his throat. "It's um, just that it'll be me and... someone, uh, staying at the house. With me."

Richie frowned. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Eddie kept his eyes on the screen in front of him. "Aunt Sarah's going out of town. Work thing. And, she, um...called somebody to...watch the house. While I'm home."

"You have got to be fucking shitting me." Richie's eyes widened as he tried to process this insane piece of information. "You've got a fucking _babysitter_?"

Eddie upper lip twitched into a snarl as he turned to throw a comic book at Richie's face. "That's not what I said! I _said_ that I can't come to the movies on Friday because someone will be at my house."

"An older person, paid to watch you. That is a babysitter, Eds! Holy shit!"

"She's not even that much older than me, she's twenty-two," Eddie fumed. "And this is all because my fucking Aunt Sarah won't let me stay home by myself! It's bullshit!"

Richie clapped his hands in pure glee as he bounced on his bed. "Holy fuck, our little Eddie is gonna get milk and cookies, and tucked into bed, and told bedtime stories..."

Another comic went sailing through the air. "Fuck you! I'll tell a bedtime story to your sister after I'm done with her!"

"I don't have a sister, Eddie my love, but _you_ have a _babysitter_!"

"I do not! Jesus, why do I bother talking to you?" Eddie tossed the controller aside and threw himself onto the floor, his limbs outstretched as he stared miserably at the ceiling. "This is such bullshit."

Richie tutted at him. "Eds, you gotta admit that it's weird. You're fourteen, for God's sake, not six."

"I know." Eddie sighed. "I tried to reason with Aunt Sarah, but she kept saying Mom would never forgive her for leaving her only son in the house alone at night. My mom is fucking dead, she doesn't give a shit about shit!"

A dark rush of satisfaction made Richie nearly laugh out loud. Sonia Kaspbrak was burning in hell as far as he was concerned, and while her sister was a far cry from that brand of crazy, Sarah still fussed over Eddie, albeit in a less horrifying way. "Well, Edster, look at the bright side. Maybe your aunt will get a hot babe with huge tits who will tickle your pickle if you ask nice enough."

"Um. No. It's her friend's daughter, Nikki or Vicky or some shit." Eddie groaned. "God. This is the fucking worst."

Seeing Eddie in distress tugged at something in Richie's chest. He stood up and got down on the floor as casually as he could, ignoring how his heart rate sped up as he stretched out next to Eddie. Richie tried to keep his gaze on the ceiling, but he couldn't resist staring at Eddie's full lips and long, dark lashes. "Maybe it won't be so bad," he murmured.

Eddie snorted. "How so?"

Richie's hand twitched with the urge to gently trace Eddie's pout with the tips of his fingers. "Well, you know. She might be cool. She's young, right? So she knows how humiliating this could be for you. She'll probably just watch TV with you. Or she'll spend the night on the phone with her friends. No big deal."

"Yeah." Eddie chewed his lower lip. It was somehow adorable and sexy at the same time. "Just, keep this a secret, okay? I don't want everyone else to know."

"Your secret's safe with me, Eds." Richie winked at him, and for just a moment, he could swear that he saw Eddie blush.

' ' ' ' ' '

Wentworth and Maggie Tozier had date night on most Fridays. They'd either stock the freezer with microwavable food, or leave enough cash for a pizza for Richie, and would then head out to dinner at a fancy restaurant. Lately, they had taken to expanding the date and spending the night at a hotel. That was just fine with Richie, as he'd long been used to living on a different plane of existence from his parents, and tonight their absence allowed him to concentrate on the task at hand.

Operation Rescue Eddie was in full effect. 

Richie took quick inventory of the items in his backpack and grinned at his own genius. Eds was probably bored to tears at the moment, either cooped up in his room or having to listen to some airhead chick go on about John Cusack or something. Richie was going to be the hero, showing up at the Kaspbrak household with some bullshit excuse about needing to study for the SATs, but in reality, he'd be bringing a treasure trove of goodies, which included:

\- all of his recent X-Men comics, figuring Eddie could borrow them;

\- his Gameboy, which he was also going to let Eddie borrow;

\- four boxes of Nerds candy, which Eddie said was mostly sugar and chemicals, but he still gobbled them up whenever he could;

\- a fresh mixtape of featuring cool shit like "18 And Life" by Skid Row, "So Alive" by Love & Rockets, and "When I See You Smile" by Bad English (he figured he could pass it off as a joke if Eddie thought it was lame, but those lyrics expressed EXACTLY how Richie felt);

\- a VHS copy of "Carlin at Carnegie" that Richie managed to tape while his parents were out on one of their infamous date nights. 

It was one of Richie's more brilliant plans, and as he hopped onto his bike to head to Eddie's house, he kept imagining how utterly flattered Eddie would be. Maybe he'd even give him one of his rare, long hugs. Maybe even a kiss on the cheek. Or a kiss on the neck. Then maybe he'd let Richie slide his hands under Eddie's shirt, letting him feel his bare skin...

_Whoa. Easy there, cowboy._ Richie had to start thinking of old nuns mud wrestling to keep from having a bit of a situation, and thankfully, it worked. He just had to keep calm, that was all. 

But it _was_ a brilliant plan. 

He got to Eddie's house in record time, resting his bike on the lawn and hurrying up the driveway. A familiar stab of dread, courtesy of the not so dearly departed Sonia Kaspbrak nearly made Richie stumble, but he shrugged it off and rang the doorbell. 

Footsteps approached, and Richie put on his most charming smile, ready to dazzle this Vicky girl to let him gain access to the boy he loved. 

The door opened, and Ritchie's jaw nearly dropped. 

A guy with jet black hair and the bluest eyes Richie had ever seen stared back at him with a scowl. His toned biceps were pushing against the sleeves of his faded Ramones shirt, which barely covered the tattoos that peeked out from under the material. He looked Richie over with mild disinterest, then smirked.

_Oh. Fuck._

Any doubt that Richie might have had about being gay sailed out window. He was definitely gay, because this was the hottest human being Richie had ever seen and his brain almost couldn't handle it. 

"You lost?" the guy asked with an arched eyebrow. 

"Uhh..." Richie's mouth suddenly felt extremely dry. His mind ached to think if something to say, anything, but for once, he was coming up blank. 

"Hmm." The guy lifted a bottle to his lips and took a sip. He noticed Richie watching him in shock and shook his head. "Relax, kid, it's root beer. I'm not drinking on the job."

"You..." Richie shook his head. _Talk, dammit! It's what you DO!_ "Um...Eddie...?"

Mystery Guy nodded slowly. "Figured that's why you were here." He turned his head and yelled in the direction of the living room. "Yo! Eddie, my man! You got a visitor."

Richie continued to stare at Mystery Guy as he stepped back and turned to walk towards the kitchen, his jeans hugging his curvy hips and gorgeous, round ass. Richie nearly started drooling. _Holy fuuuck..._

"Hey Nicky! What's...oh. Hi, Richie." Eddie seemed breathless, his eyes darting around. "Um, what's up?"

"What's...up?" Richie stared at him. "You've...you're..."

Eddie frowned and glanced at Mystery Guy, who was watching them with an amused grin. "I, um. Nicky and I were watching Die Hard."

"Best Christmas movie ever. Bruce Willis was a fuckin' badass. Plus Alan Rickman, in that suit, with that accent? Can't go wrong." Nicky then nodded at Eddie. "You wanna invite your friend in? It's cool. We've still got a fuckload of food."

"Y-yeah. Sure." Eddie stepped back, his face flushed red for some reason, and closed the door behind Richie. "We ordered pizza. And wings. They're really good." Eddie cleared his throat and looked around the room, avoiding Richie's stunned gaze. "So, um. How are you?"

"I'm..." Richie shook his head. "You... you're..."

Nicky chuckled and strolled into the living room. "Hey, Eddie, I was gonna pause the movie anyway, I gotta make a phone call. Why don't you take your friend upstairs, hang out with him? I'm probably going to be a while." He looked at Richie and winked, honest to God _winked_ , and Richie nearly squeaked.

"Um, sure. Just a second, Richie, I've just gotta do something. Wait here, okay?" Eddie turned and ran upstairs without a look back. 

Richie glanced at Nicky, who had switched the TV back on and was flipping through channels. "So you're Richie, huh?" he asked, keeping his eye on the screen. 

"Yeah," Richie managed, trying desperately not to fidget. Fuck, this guy was gorgeous.

"Hmm." Nicky smirked and took a sip of root beer. "Good to know."

Something about his tone piqued Richie's curiosity. "What do you mean?"

Nicky chuckled. "It's good to put a face to the name, that's all." He turned and gave Richie a look that Richie couldn't begin to decipher. "Eddie's a good guy. Don't you agree?"

"Oh. Uh, yeah, definitely."

"He's a good kid and he deserves to be treated well. You know? Flowers, candy, all that shit."

"Um..." Richie's brow furrowed. "Huh?"

Nicky sighed. "Sorry, kid. You're what, thirteen?"

"Fourteen."

"Right. Sometimes things take time." Nicky's expression turned serious. "Hey. Just so you know...it's okay. Don't feel like you've gotta face shit alone, okay?"

"Uh....okay?" Maybe Nicky was a poet or something. Or he was just rambling, like Richie did sometimes.

"Richie!" Eddie's shout from upstairs made Richie jump like a startled cat. "Are you still here?"

"Coming!" Richie turned and practically ran up the stairs, his face burning as he heard Nicky's soft laughter. 

Eddie was tossing a few wadded pieces of paper into his trashcan as Richie entered his room, then quickly stood in front of his desk with his arms folded and his face flushed red. "Hey. So, um...I was, um, going to call you. I've, um, been thinking..."

"Eddie!" Richie dropped his backpack and began pacing. His heart was going a mile a minute. "Holy...holy shit. He's... Nicky's a guy!"

"The thing is, I haven't been...Wait, what?"

Richie sputtered, unable to stop pacing. "He's...he's a guy! Your babysitter is a guy!"

"He is not my babysitter!" Eddie huffed. "Don't call him that, all right? Jesus."

"But...but, he's..."

"Okay, fine, whatever." Eddie flailed his arms around. "I was freaked out too, but Nicky's actually really cool. We've been talking a lot and he...he knows a lot about a lot of things."

"Like...like _what?_ "

Eddie's eyes started darting around the room. "Like, lots of things. Life stuff."

"...Life stuff." 

"Yeah."

Richie snorted. "What kind of "life stuff" would he even know about? C'mon, Eds."

"I like talking to him!" Eddie blurted, his face turning red. "You seem like you're mad. Are you mad?"

"I'm not mad," Richie snapped. "I'm... concerned. I'm a concerned citizen."

Eddie sighed. "What are you even talking about?"

"He's..." Richie sat on Eddie's bed, fighting the urge to scream. "He's weird, okay? Nicky's...weird."

"...Weird." Eddie's voice was uncharacteristically emotionless. "Weird how, Richie?"

"He just is!" Richie insisted. 

Eddie glared at him. "What about him is weird, exactly?"

Richie scowled, and was about to retort when he remembered how anxious Eddie was around Nicky when Richie arrived, and how he seemed almost nervous. Eddie was clearly embarrassed of Richie, his awkward, dorky friend, because he wanted to impress Nicky. Fucking Nicky, with his tattoos and muscles and badass presence, who could watch over Eddie to keep him safe, and what could Richie offer? A mixtape and some candy?

Eddie might even develop a crush on Nicky. It wasn't impossible. Richie didn't actually know if Eddie was gay, but if anyone was going to make him question his sexuality, it would be a hot guy who looked like he could kick anyone's ass. Not a Loser, like Richie. Not him.

Not ever.

"Nicky's easy to talk to," Eddie insisted as Richie dug his fingers into Eddie's sheets. "Seriously, if you just..."

"Just what? What am I just doing? So what, I'm supposed to be happy for you?" Richie demanded, his voice cracking. He winced, forcing himself to breathe normally. 

"What?" Eddie frowned and stepped forward. "Richie, you're not making sense."

Richie felt his whole body tense. "What's that supposed to fucking mean?"

Eddie's frown deepened. "Why are you so pissed off? This is weird, even for you."

"Even for me?" Richie could feel his throat tightening, but he pushed away the hurt at Eddie's obvious rejection and focused on his irritation instead. "Oh, wow, I'm sorry, I didn't know I was trespassing on the cool kid's territory. My mistake."

Eddie rolled his eyes. "For God's sake..."

"Because god forbid your babysitter...sorry, your new _friend_...sees you with an uncool asshole like me. Right? Did you forget that you're one of the Losers, Eddie?"

"Richie, what are you..."

"Because I didn't forget! And if I have to walk on eggshells just because you have some sexy motherfucker in your house watching movies with you..."

"What?"

"...Fucking distracting you with his perfect face and perfect fucking body, then I'm not going to..."

"Wait." Eddie held his hand up, his expression suddenly blank. "Wait. Did you...just call Nicky sexy?"

Richie froze. 

"Do you..." Eddie paled, and his dark eyes grew impossibly wide. "Wait. Richie...are you...?"

Richie was up like a shot and made a beeline to Eddie's window. The damn thing got stuck sometimes, and sure enough, this was one of those times because fate liked to fuck with him, apparently.

"Richie." Eddie sounded scared, and of course he was. Richie had basically just outed himself, and now Eddie wouldn't want anything to do with him, not even be his _friend_ , and the thought of losing Eddie completely made him gasp.

"Richie, wait..."

His hands were shaking. Tears clouded his vision, but he had to get out, get out _now -_

"Please, Richie, just let me tell you..."

Fate was kind, for once, and Richie somehow managed to get the window open. Muscle memory took over, and he reached out to familiar branches on the tree outside of Eddie's bedroom. 

Eddie kept calling for him as he stomped over to his bike, but Richie never looked back.

' ' ' ' ' '

Every great comedian has self-awareness. It's essential to cultivating stage presence, or screen presence.

Richie had it in spades. He knew how annoying he could be, and that his tendency to push his limits made him an acquired taste. He knew his nickname of Trashmouth was well earned, and he wore it with pride. 

Eddie always seemed to enjoy being with him, though. Yes, he rolled his eyes at his jokes, occasionally shoved him away when Richie planted kisses on his cheeks, and called him an assortment of insults, but Eddie never really pushed Richie away. 

But that was before Richie basically admitted to being gay in the worst way possible, by calling his goddamn male babysitter sexy. 

Richie clung to his pillow, his face warm and sticky with dried tears. He'd given up on sleep, unable to stop thinking of the look of shock on Eddie's face. There was no way that Eddie wasn't replaying all the times Richie had called him his love, or pulled him close when they were all watching a movie or just hanging out. All those times Richie had passed notes to him in class, or stared at him during lunch, it would all be so glaringly obvious to Eddie. 

Suddenly Richie remembered all the gifts in his backpack, including that incriminating mixtape, and groaned. There was no way Eddie hadn't figured it all out by now. 

The worst part was not knowing how he'd be rejected. Would Eddie avoid him completely, refusing to even acknowledge his existence? Or would he pretend it never happened, but would go out of his way to distance himself from Richie at all costs? 

A life without Eddie seemed unthinkable, but it was clearly Richie's future. He'd lost the love of his life without ever really having him.

"I'm sorry, Eds," Richie whispered, and buried his face in his pillow as his eyes welled up again.


End file.
